


Day 2 - Hurt Comfort/Trapped

by followmetoyourdoom



Series: LRMSW [2]
Category: LoliRock (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, based on the hc that Mephisto has ptsd from his time with gramorr, me and may took him not liking the dark in that one ep and ran with it and made it super angsty, so enjoy :3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-23 00:06:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11977947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/followmetoyourdoom/pseuds/followmetoyourdoom
Summary: Set post-canon when Mephisto is staying with the girls and slowly healing. But somethings take longer to heal than others...





	Day 2 - Hurt Comfort/Trapped

All night Mephisto had been tossing and turning in the too comfortable bed, the alien bed where he didn't feel like he belonged. Especially when he should be out there trying to bring Praxina back from whatever madness had taken over her.

Not to mention the constant phantom pain he experienced in his legs. Or rather, what was left of his legs after the explosion. Mephisto was grateful the princesses had accepted him into their home, had taught him better control of light magic so he could craft himself feet that he could actually walk on and move. But even so… there would always be more of him missing than that.

Regardless, he had chores to do.

Clumsily he got to his feet, wincing as he put weight on his legs. He had to get used to this walking lark, not just to blend in with the humans, but also to help his own recovery.

Wandering out of his room, he popped his head around the kitchen door. Ellira was already cooking more of that strange human food, it sizzled in the pan and she cursed as it spat at her. How curious earth cooking was.

"Morning," he said groggily, slinking further around the door. "Need any help?"

Ellira raised her eyebrows at the dark bags under his eyes and sighed. The poor boy had been through so much. "I think you'd make more of a mess than I could," she joked goodnaturedly, thinking of an easy job for him - she knew how easily boredom took a hold of him. "Although… would you mind putting the laundry on? I have to go out to the shop later, but I'll leave breakfast in the microwave for you when you finish. Sound like a plan?"

Mephisto nodded. Breakfast did indeed sound good, and he'd tackled that particular chore before, even if the laundry contraption did confuse him sometimes. There were so many different buttons, and even Iris hadn't been able to explain them all to him as she'd rested against the laundry room's door. But they'd managed regardless.

Making his way upstairs, holding onto the banister for support, Mephisto knocked gently on Iris' door.

"Laundry collection," he called.

There was no reply so Mephisto carefully opened the door to find the room empty. He shrugged and wandered over to her laundry basket, enchanting it to follow him and leaving the room with it in tow. He'd return it later. Maybe.

Mephisto repeated the process with the other princesses' rooms and soon had a little train of baskets following him down the stairs. Another was added when he popped into Ellira's room, and soon he was shoving the clothes into the machine, regardless of colour and with his head turned the other way so he didn't see anything he shouldn't.

He dragged the last basket forwards to empty, but as he did so the door it had been propping open slammed shut.

The tiny laundry room turned pitch black immediately and Mephisto froze.

 _It's okay_ , he rationed, _the door just shut. All I need to do is open it_. He called a magic circle so he could see where he was and found the door handle.

But it wouldn't open.

Now the panic was setting in. The light around Mephisto's hand faded as he tugged and pulled with all his might at the door, his actions getting more and more sporadic and desperate.

"Stupid thing, open! WHY WON'T YOU OPEN!!!" He slammed his fists against it, hoping Ellira was still in the kitchen. He went to blast it open, damage be damned, but when he try to call on his magic again, it failed him. "No! No I can't have- I can do this." This time the light returned but soon spluttered out and Mephisto was left in the dark once again.

He slipped uselessly to the floor, the memories flooding back to him.

He remembered all the times Gramorr had punished him, stripping him of his magic and locking him in an opaque crystal dome that Praxina was forced to break him out of to practise her magic. He remembered all the times he'd screamed himself hoarse and cried out for help until he ran out of tears, but it had never mattered because the dome was always too thick and no sound could get in or out. The only thing he'd ever been able to do was wait and try his best not to break down completely.

So that's what he did now.

He pulled his broken legs towards himself, wrapping his arms around the cold crystal prosthetics and rocked in place, whimpering his sister's name over and over again.

She'd save him, she always did. Praxina would be at it already, working to free him so they could be reunited again. She would break him out soon, she would, he knew she would; she had to otherwise the punishment would be worse.

_Perhaps your brother needs a more permanent crystal residence, hm?_

_No, please Master I- I can do this. I just need more time._

_You are trying my patience Praxina! You have run out of time, complete the spell now or I will make true on my promise. I can afford to lose one twin, especially_ him _._

Hours passed.

The tormented imagines became clearer and clearer in Mephisto's mind, the real world but a dream. Anything was better than reliving this, anything.

Eventually the door swung open and Mephisto blinked then scrambled out on all fours. He huddled against the nearest wall he came to, and basked in the artificial lights of the hall, thankful to be out of there but confused by his surroundings.

"Mephisto?" Iris carefully crouched down in front of him, concern etched onto her face.

Flinching, Mephisto held his hands up, magic circles flickering on and off before them. "S-stay back! Where am I? Where have you taken me?!? Who _are_ you?"

Iris shared a look with the other girls, but they were just as befuddled as she was. Turning back to Mephisto, Iris went through his questions slowly and steady. "It's me, Iris. And you're in the house, you're staying with us for a bit, remember? Are you okay Mephisto?"

But this did nothing to console him. "Where's my sister! What did Gramorr do to her? What sort of illusion has he put up this time?" he demanded, tearful eyes darting around frantically, taking in his surroundings, but his mind couldn't process anything he saw. Not even when the other princesses stood behind Iris called upon their magic, ready in case he acted up. Mephisto was just too lost in the memory of those awful times.

Talia frowned down at him. "What is he blabbing on about? Is he trying to trick us?" She stepped forwards, magic circle now fully formed.

"No! Talia, I- I think he's just confused and scared. I can handle this, don't worry. Step down."

Auriana placed a hand on Talia's shoulder, pulling her back and steering her towards the laundry room. "C'mon, let's finish putting the clothes in that metal box thing."

Talia sighed but lowered her hand, albeit reluctantly, and followed Auriana into the tiny room.

Meanwhile Iris sat cross legged in front of Mephisto who was still freaking out. "Mephisto, Mephisto look at me," she commanded. When he did so, she carefully took his hands and placed them on her open palms. "See, you're safe. No magic, nothing to hurt you. Safe."

"But Praxina…" he mumbled.

"Praxina… is," Iris didn't really want to upset him right now, especially if he was having a bout of amnesia, but she didn't want to lie either. "She's not here right now. But she'll be joining us soon, I'll make sure of it."

And Iris meant it. One way or another, she was going to ensure Mephisto got his sister back.

For now she simply squeezed his hand. "Do you want to go back to your room? Have some food? Or just sit here for a while longer?"

Mephisto could only nod, so when he didn't move, Iris assumed he was agreeing with the latter. She went to drop his hands, but Mephisto held onto them tightly, needing something, someone, anything to hold onto.

They sat there in silence for a while. Even when Talia and Auriana left the laundry room, Iris simply tilted her head towards the practise room, she'd get there in time. But more time passed and Iris eventually moved to sit next to Mephisto against the wall, leaning slightly against him when he tugged at her arm and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Thank you," Mephisto muttered almost an hour later, sitting up properly. "And sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for," Iris turned to smile at him. "You're part of the team now, we've got to look out for each other, yeah?" When he didn't reply, Iris cocked her head. "You wanna talk about it?"

Mephisto considered this. "Not yet… but uh, small dark spaces are a no for me."

"Okay I'll keep that in mind. Make sure you always prop the laundry door open then, it tends to slam shut and stick."

"Yeah, I noticed," Mephisto muttered dryly, then fumbled to apologise when he saw the look on Iris' face. "Sorry, that was…" He struggled to find the right word. "Unnecessary," he finally settled on. "I'm trying to work on the whole sarcasm thing."

Iris smiled sadly. "It's okay. I know it's hard. Everything's just suddenly changed and you're not sure where you fit in, you don't know what feels right or what you're capable of doing..." she trailed off, remembered when she'd first been introduced to magic, when her world had turned upside down. "Sorry, I got a little off track. But, you can talk to me about it whenever you want. I might not have gone from evil to good, but I do know a little something about drastic changes."

Mephisto cleared his throat, afraid to speak his mind, and stood up, stumbling slightly. Iris jumped up after him and hovered her hands near him worriedly. The concern on her face almost brought fresh tears to Mephisto's eyes.

"Do you need anything?"

Okay this was ridiculous, he couldn't take her pity any more. "I think a kiss might help," he quipped, trying to change the tone of the conversation.

And it worked, though perhaps a little too well.

Iris giggled and stood on her toes to plant a kiss on his cheek. "There, better?"

Mephisto almost fell back on the floor. As it was he squeaked ever so quietly, then coughed in an attempt to mask it. "Right um… I uh, thank you princess, and uh… food yes, food sounds like a good idea, I heard mention of food earlier." He walked towards the kitchen, head in the clouds, and smacked face first into the door frame.

Gasping, Iris rushed over. "Are you okay?"

"This is where sarcasm really comes in handy," he muttered, holding his face. "Klatznik, I haven't broke anything, have I? I'd hate to ruin my dashing good looks."

Iris raised an eyebrow as Mephisto tentatively peeked out from behind his hands, his face perfectly intact except for a tiny red mark on the end of his nose. "God forbid you ruin your dashing good looks."

"Well yeah have you se- wait… was that sarcasm?"

Grinning, Iris booped him on the nose. "Maybe. And you're fine silly." She pulled him into the kitchen. "C'mon, let's get food, I promise it'll help."

Mephisto gave a lopsided smile as he watched her hair swish over her shoulders and knew he was done for. Though, if he was being honest with himself, he'd been falling for the princess for a while now. She always knew what to say to cheer people up and was so nice - he never knew nice could be so appealing, but then again, he never knew he'd ever be on this side of the fight either.

Iris caught him smiling at her and smiled back, a slight blush decorating her freckles.

Maybe not all changes were bad.


End file.
